“Wagner Brigade behind the boom in landings” – Corriere.it

The boom in landings that is affecting Italy and the central corridor of the Mediterranean without interruption? A strategy behind which would be the Wagner Brigade.

The scenario has been overshadowed twice within a few hours since two prominent members of the Meloni government
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and his defense colleague Guido Crosetti. Two figures, therefore, directly affected by the question.

The Wagner Brigade is the Russian company of mercenaries engaged on the front line of the war in Ukraine (and in particular on the Bakhmut front), but has also been active for years in many “hot” scenarios in Africa.

Tajani called into question the pro-Putin private soldiers at the end of a meeting with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I found – here are the words of the head of the Farnesina – great understanding for what is happening in Italy regarding immigration on the part of Netanyahu”. The minister then underlined “the concern” about the fact that “many migrants arrive from areas controlled by the Wagner group. I wouldn’t want there to be an attempt to push migrants towards Italy”.

Below, here is what was declared by the defense minister Guido Crosetto: “It seems to me that by now we can say that theexponential increase in the migratory phenomenon that starts from the African coasts is also, to a considerable extent, part of a clear strategy of hybrid warfare that the Wagner division is implementingusing its relevant weight in some African countries».

Where do the two ministers get their statements from? I’m sure I’m in possession of confidential information. In addition, the Italian 007s said that there are about 685,000 migrants in the Libyan camps ready to embark on the crossing of the Mediterranean.

The presence of Wagner’s soldiers in the area has been documented for years: according to sources from the specialized Defense Analysis site the Russian mercenary group has between 1,000 and 2,000 effective personnel deployed in the Al Jufra base, near Sirte in support of rebel general Khalifa Haftar’s militias: the contingent can also count on 9 Mig 29 aircraft but has been reduced to less than half compared to the 5,000 militiamen it had until a few years ago.

Wagner is certainly present in some sub-Saharan countries, such as Mali, Sudan and the Central African Republic. Equally certain is the presence of the army owned by the oligarch Evgeny Prigozhin in Syria, other area from which migrants are arriving in Italy. As of 2014 Russian mercenaries they support Bashar Assad’s regimeincluding with intelligence actions in the field and training of government troops.

It remains to be seen whether there really is a causal link – as feared by Tajani and Crosetto – between the action of the Russians and the surge in landings. The boats are leaving yes from Libya but increasingly also from Tunisiawhile for years the route that crosses the Ionian has been able to count on Russian and Ukrainian smugglers.

In the meantime, to contrast the flow, Palazzo Chigi is reconsidering the hypothesis of deploy Navy ships. The measure was initially included in the “Decreto Cutro”, but was then deleted: the idea made headway again during a summit held between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the ministers concerned and the heads of the secret services.